Ceiling fans are well known as effective means for circulating air in enclosed spaces. They are employed chiefly in warm weather conditions for cooling and ventilating rooms. Ceiling fans are usually centered on the ceiling of a room and are typically operated to push air downward in the center of a room. In other words, the fan blades move in a counterclockwise direction, thereby resulting in the downward movement of air closer to the center of the fan, and an upward movement of air away from the center of the fan.
Certain ceiling fans may be fitted with a switch that switches the direction of the fan blades to a clockwise direction, i.e., they are reversible. This can help push the warmer air that is typically trapped near the ceiling back down into a room away from the center of the fan, thus “de-stratifying” the layers of warm air. As a result, the warm air is circulated to the floor of the room where it is needed, and the heating system does not overwork to warm the room.
Ceiling fans in the prior art typically comprise a single reversible motor that is capable of directing the flow of air in one of two directions at any given time depending on the rotational direction of the fan blades. In these fans, the reversible motor is mounted to a mounting rod and drives a central hub. Typically, a plurality of fan blades is coupled to and rotatable with, the central hub. Therefore, a ceiling fan whose blades are rotating in a counterclockwise direction will push air downward closer to the center of the fan, while a ceiling fan that is rotating in a clockwise direction will push air downward away from the center of the fan.